Beale Day opens doors to key community leaders

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Shawn Nickel
  • 9th RW Public Affairs
BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif., --  More than 50 civic leaders from surrounding communities, including mayors, business leaders and and Beale Military Liaison Committee members, toured the base during Beale Day Oct. 14.

The community relations event, tailored for the civic leaders, introduced key elements of Beale's mission to showcase what Airmen who live in the surrounding communities do on a daily basis.

"At my workplace, I love to educate our employees and guests about the critical missions that are performed 24/7 at Beale," said Toni Scholz, BMLC member and manager of the Town Place Suites in Roseville, Calif. "When you understand how important the Airmen's work is, you can't help but want to support them in any way possible."

The tours first stop was at the flight line in Dock 6. The guests viewed static displays of the U-2 Dragon Lady, T-38 Talon, MC-12W Liberty and equipment from the Air Force Combat Ammunition Course, 9th Physiological Support Squadron and 12th Reconnaissance Squadron.

"When personnel explained their mission, they did so with such passion, it was nearly impossible to not get caught up in their enthusiasm," said Scholz.

While visiting Dock 6, several attendees said they were particularly interested to find that Beale is home to several unique missions such as AFCOMAC, the only combat ammunition school in the Department of Defense.

"What we do has a huge impact on the Air Force mission," said Staff Sgt. Jay Weber, 9th Munitions Squadron stockpile surveillance crew chief. "We have to do our jobs right every time to ensure the safety of Airmen and the community. That makes it easy to be passionate about our jobs."

In addition to the flight line, the tours visited the 548th Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group, RQ-4 Global Hawk simulator, 9th PSPTS, 7th Space Warning Squadron, 9th Security Forces Squadron military working dog unit, 9th Civil Engineering Squadron explosive ordinance disposal unit, and AFCOMAC.

Throughout the entire tour Scholz said the most impressive display was the seamless integration of active Air Force along with Reserve and National Guard personnel.

"Everyone operates as a total, focused unit and unless someone told me which branch they belonged to, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference," she said. "The dedication and teamwork demonstrated by everyone on base is something that you can't describe in words and is very impressive to witness."

After the tour, guests were given the opportunity to dine with base leadership at the Recce Point Club. There they asked questions to clarify any concerns or give feedback about their tour experience.

"This was an exceptional opportunity for Beale Airmen to showcase their mission to the communities that support our base and our Airmen on a daily basis," said Brig. Gen. Paul McGillicuddy, 9th Reconnaissance Wing commander. "With more than 50 percent of our Airmen living off base and our Reservists working in the local community, I would like to thank you, our neighbors, for investing your time in our base."